The story of natural gas
Duration
60 minutes
Lesson overview
Students will consider what they already know about natural gas and watch a demonstration. They’ll
generate questions they have about natural gas and may build a wall of questions in the classroom.
Students will then work in small groups to sequence the story of natural gas, where it comes from and
how it gets to our homes.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
• explain where natural gas comes from
• demonstrate curiosity about natural gas
• identify questions about natural gas
• work together in small groups to sequence the story of natural gas
• communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways
Curriculum connections - Science
Big idea
• earth materials change as they move through the rock cycle and can be used as natural resources
Content
• local types of earth materials
• the rock cycle
Curricular competencies
• demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest
• co-operatively design projects
• communicate ideas, explanations, and processes in a variety of ways
Curriculum connections - Language Arts
Curricular competencies
• access information and ideas from a variety of sources and from prior knowledge to build understanding
• apply a variety of thinking skills to gain meaning from texts
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Lesson Grade 5
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 1 of 4
What you will need
• sponge and cup or bowl
• The Story of Natural Gas Student Handout (two pages)
• Natural Gas Teacher Backgrounder
• The Story of Natural Gas Sequence Cards
Preparation
• Moisten the sponge so that water can be squeezed from it, but it’s not dripping.
• Photocopy a class set of The Story Of Natural Gas Student Handouts.
• Make enough copies of The Story of Natural Gas Sequence Cards for the class to work in small groups of
three or four students.
• Read the Natural Gas Teacher Backgrounder.
• Option: create space in the classroom to post student questions about natural gas.
Lesson notes
Students will have a chance to access their prior knowledge about natural gas in activity 1 and then
brainstorm questions they may have in activity 2. Allow time for the generation of questions and extend
the learning about types of questions if possible. Simple question prompts are provided on the student
handouts, but you may brainstorm more question starters together as a class if the students are used to
exploring their own questions.
Word list
energy
non-living
non-renewable resources
methane
natural gas
renewable resources
fossil fuel
renewable natural gas
sedimentary rock
Lesson activities
Activity 1: Sponge demo (15 minutes)
• Write natural gas on the board.
• Ask students what they think they know about natural gas. Have them fill out the top half of page one
of the student handout.
• Show students the damp sponge. Ask them what they think the sponge and natural gas have in
common. Listen to some answers.
• Squeeze the water out of the sponge into the cup or bowl. Explain that natural gas is like the water
coming out of the sponge. It is a gas that comes from spaces in the rocks under the ground. You can’t see
it or smell it.
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Lesson Grade 5
(11-193 09/2016)
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Activity 2: I wonder… (10 minutes)
• Have students think about what questions they have about natural gas. What do they want to know
about it? Record their questions on page one.
• Have the students walk around the room and share one of their questions with at least three
different students.
• Share the questions as a class and allow time for students to add more questions of interest to their
worksheet after hearing from their classmates.
• Optional: create a wall of questions in the class to investigate and review later.
Activity 3: The story of natural gas (20 minutes)
• In small groups of three or four, have students cut The Story Of Natural Gas Sequence Cards into strips.
• Working together, have each group try to put the cards in the right order.
• Review the sequence by having students line up at the front of the room with the cards in correct order.
Allow each group to review their sequence and adjust as necessary.
• Debrief and discuss the different stages in the story of natural gas (formation, extraction,
transportation).
Activity 4: Reflections (15 minutes)
• Have the students complete page two of their handouts.
• Discuss any questions or misconceptions as necessary.
Assessment
• Monitor small group work for cooperation, clear communication and active listening.
• Review student worksheets to assess their ability to:
- explain where natural gas comes from
- identify questions about natural gas
- sequence the story of natural gas
- communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways
Extensions
• Research historical discoveries and uses of natural gas and create a timeline.
• Have students research developments in the use of renewable natural gas.
• Have students create a T-chart comparing natural gas to other energy sources.
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Lesson Grade 5
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 3 of 4
Definitions
energy: defined as the ability to do work; energy is how things change and move and takes many
different forms (e.g. heat, sound, light, etc.)
fossil fuel: non-renewable fuel (such as coal, oil and natural gas) that was formed under the ground from
dead plants or animals more than 300 million years ago
natural gas: a fossil fuel that is lighter than air and you cannot see or smell it; natural gas is made up
mostly of methane, a simple compound consisting of carbon and hydrogen. See teacher backgrounder for
more information
methane: a colourless, odourless and flammable gas; methane is a simple hydrocarbon made up of one
carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4)
sedimentary rock: rocks formed by sand, mud, minerals, plants and animals that are deposited over
time, usually as layers at the bottom of lakes or oceans; the sediment is compressed over a long period of
time before consolidating into layers of rock with heat and pressure
non-living: anything that is not alive or has never been alive (e.g. rock, mountain, glass, watch)
non-renewable resources: resources that cannot be renewed or replenished
renewable natural gas: a biogas that forms during the break down of organic waste by bacteria (e.g.
landfill sites, agricultural waste, waste water from treatment facilities);the gas is captured and purified
into renewable natural gas
renewable resources: resources that are not used up and can be replenished naturally (e.g. hydropower
from falling water, wind power from windmills, solar power from the sun)
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Lesson Grade 5
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 4 of 4
Name:
The story of natural gas
What do you think you know about natural gas?
Natural gas
What questions do you have about natural gas? Start your questions with:
I wonder… Who? What? Why? Where? When? How?
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Grade 5 student handout
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 1 of 2
Reflections
1. In your own words or pictures, explain how natural gas was formed.
2. Using words or pictures, explain how natural gas gets from under the ground
to our homes.
3. What new questions do you have about natural gas? Where or how can you find the
answers to your questions?
4. What worked well in your group as you decided on the sequence for The Story of Natural
Gas? What was challenging?
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Grade 5 student handout
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 2 of 2
Natural gas teacher backgrounder
What is natural gas?
Natural gas is a naturally occurring mixture of gases you can’t see, smell or taste. It’s a natural resource
used in many ways in industry and in our homes. Students will be most familiar with natural gas being
used to heat our homes and cook our food.
Natural gas contains mostly methane, the smallest and lightest hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbons are organic
compounds made up entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Methane has a single carbon atom and four
hydrogen atoms. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel.
How was natural gas formed?
Natural gas was formed in the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago. At the time, most of the Earth was
covered with oceans that were filled with tiny plants and animals. The plants and animals stored the sun’s
energy in their bodies. When the plants and animals died, they sank to the bottom of the ocean and were
eventually covered by sand.
As the layers built up, the deepest layers became hot and pressurized and turned into sedimentary rock
and fossil fuels. Since natural gas is made from the remains of plants and animals, it’s called a fossil fuel.
Natural gas is non-renewable, which means we cannot make more in a short amount of time since it came
from plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. We can, however, make renewable natural gas, or
biogas, from decaying organic material from farms and landfills.
How is natural gas extracted?
Natural gas is found in underground pockets in sedimentary rocks. The natural gas molecules are held in
small holes and cracks throughout the rock formations. Wells are drilled through sedimentary rock under
land or under the ocean floor to reach the gas where it can be pumped to the surface.
How is natural gas transported?
The transportation of natural gas from its source to our homes requires an extensive network of pipelines.
After being pumped from underground, the gas is sent in gathering pipelines (small diameter and low
pressure) to the processing plant. At the processing plant, the natural gas is purified and methane is
separated from other hydrocarbons and liquids. This pure methane is compressed into high pressure
gas pipelines for long distance transportation to market in large transmission pipelines to a distribution
system (smaller pipelines).
As a safety precaution, a chemical called mercaptan is added to the gas before distribution to customers to
give it a rotten egg smell and make it detectable if a leak occurs.
As it nears the end of its journey, natural gas goes through a regulator to decrease the pressure and make
it safe to enter our homes. The gas travels through metres to measure the amount of gas we consume and
is most commonly measured in gigajoules (GJ). A joule is the metric unit for measuring heat or energy, and
a gigajoule is one billion joules. One GJ is the equivalent of about 26 litres of gasoline.
Natural gas is used in our homes, schools and businesses to heat buildings, cook food, heat water and
many other things. It can be used as an alternative fuel for large transportation vehicles and marine
vessels as it has lower carbon emissions than diesel fuel.
Energy Leaders
Natural Gas Grade 5 Teacher Backgrounder
(11-193 09/2016)
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Story of natural gas sequence cards
The plants and animals were buried
deeper and deeper. As the layers
built up, the deepest layers were
hot and pressurized and turned into
sedimentary rock.
Natural gas then travels in distribution
pipelines to where it’s used in homes,
schools and businesses. It can be
used to heat a home, cook food, heat
water, as a fuel for large transportation
vehicles and marine vessels and many
other things.
Natural gas is pumped out of the
ground at a well and sent to a
processing facility where methane is
separated from any liquids or other
hydrocarbons that might be mixed
with it.
When the plants and animals died they
were buried on the ocean floor and
then covered with layers of sediment
and rock.
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Grade 5 Sequence Cards
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 1 of 2
Natural gas has no odour, so a
chemical called mercaptan is added
before distribution to give it a
bad smell (like rotten eggs) so a
leak can be detected quickly and
managed safely.
Hundreds of millions of years ago,
most of the Earth was covered with
oceans. Tiny plants and animals lived
in these oceans. Both the plants and
animals stored the sun’s energy in
their bodies.
Natural gas is compressed into
high pressure gas pipelines for
transportation from the processing
plant to market.
Today, we drill through the
sedimentary rock to reach the
places that contain these natural gas
(hydrocarbon) deposits.
Eventually, the dead plants and
animals under all the layers of rock
changed into special molecules called
hydrocarbons, with only hydrogen
and carbon in them. Trapped in the
rock, they waited and waited there for
millions of years!
Energy Leaders
The Story of Natural Gas Grade 5 Sequence Cards
(11-193 09/2016)
Page 2 of 2